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Rikuu Nishida is 5-foot-6, 150 pounds and straight out of Mt. Hood Community College.
It’s not every year that Oregon baseball snags attention in March. And it’s even rarer that the program goes viral. The Ducks have been good under coach Mark Wasikowski, but this is hoops season after all.
But it’s a little different with Rikuu Nishida. See, Nishida found himself all over the place on Sunday thanks to his first-inning theatrics in a 5-1 win over San Diego: Nishida, a junior listed at 5-foot-6, 150 pounds, grabbed a wood bat and smashed an opposite field home run on a 1-0 fastball.
“So good, so good,” Nishida told reporters after, and the internet agreed.
The Ducks are off to an 8-3 start, aided in part by the surprising beginning of Nishida’s Division 1 career. He leads the Ducks in runs scored, is tied for the team lead in walks and his home run on Sunday was the first he’s hit since coming to America, the second baseman from Osaka, Japan said.
How did he end up here?
Through Mt. Hood Community College, of course. For the last two years, Nishida tore the cover off the baseball in Gresham. He was recruited to the program by former head coach Bryan Donahue, batted .415 as a freshman then ranked in the top-five among Northwest Athletic Conference players in runs scored (No. 1), stolen bases (No. 1), hits (No. 3), walks (No. 3), on-base percentage (No. 4) and top-10 in batting average (No. 8).
“He did Rikuu things,” said Danny Sales, who coached Nishida and the Saints in 2022.
Sales said Nishida had a few Division 1 conversations, but after finding out that Oregon was his “dream school,” Sales said he was able to put Nishida in touch with Wasikowski and the Ducks staff.
“I texted Waz when he went down there for a visit that he’s not going to pass the eye test,” Sales said. “But trust me on this one. This guy is really good.”
The signs really came this summer, when Nishida hit .297 in the Cape Cod League and led the elite summer collegiate baseball league with 28 stolen bases.
“He has that set up that when he hits he’s a slow and early guy,” Sales said. “He gets ready so early and sees the ball so well. The biggest concern for me was if he was going to be able to adapt to the big school and interact with big crowds and travel.
“I shouldn’t say it’s a concern, but just would he be able to adjust to that from a mental standpoint?”
So far, the answer is yes. Nishida has found himself in Oregon’s starting lineup since the start of the season and has quickly become a team and crowd favorite thanks to a rather eclectic approach. Nishida has a collection of bats he chooses from, including a wood bat like the type he used during his time at Mt. Hood.
Why did he use that one Sunday?
“When I woke up and I grabbed bat, that’s my bat,” Nishida said. “I don’t have any opinion. I prefer wood more than metal.”
Said Wasikowski: “Rikuu’s a trip, man. He’s a guy I’ve never coached before. Not even a similar comp of a player. He’s got a ton of energy. Even when we take him out of the game, he’s taking gloves out to players. He’s got the heart of a helper. However he can help a baseball team win or a person get better, he’s all in. He’s such a unique person. It’s neat.”
So, more home runs?
The Ducks don’t expect Nishida to suddenly become a power threat. But Wasikowski did say it’s not uncommon to see Nishida barrel up during BP and send a few over the right field wall into Oregon’s hitting facility.
“When a couple of teams that have come in with big shifts that bring guys way in, I chuckle a little bit,” Wasikowski said. “I know they’re going to get burnt.”
Sales is familiar with that feeling. While Nishida didn’t hit any home runs at Mt. Hood, he did have an OPS of .922 the year Sales coached him. After the coach saw video of Nishida’s bomb on Sunday, he texted his former player.
“Oppo-bomb with wood?”
“Lucky,” Nishida replied.
Then:“I told him he’d have to go pee at 8 a.m. tomorrow for a steroid test,” Sales said.
— Tyson Alger
